St. Lucie County’s oldest church

This is Paul Janensch with a Treasure Coast Essay about the oldest chartered church in St. Lucie County.  It’s First Baptist Church of Fort Pierce, now at 4500 South 25^th Street, where a celebration service and fish fry were held on a recent Sunday.  In 1891 – 125 years ago – the congregation was meeting in a small wooden sanctuary in the 300 block of Avenue A.  The following year, a full-size church was completed.  People came by boat and oxcart to attend services.  Converts were baptized in the Indian River Lagoon.  Until then, the nearest church of any denomination was 50 miles to the north.  Some of the current members are descended from the original families.  First Baptist moved several times.  But its mission remained the same – to reach out to the community through the Gospel.  I’m Paul Janensch.